Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to computer graphics and, more specifically, to an interactive tool for inspecting and repairing three-dimensional models.
Description of the Related Art
A conventional rendering application may be configured to generate a three-dimensional (3D) model that represents the surface of an object within a 3D environment. The object could be, e.g., a real-world object such as a human being, or a virtual object such as a video game character. The 3D model that represents the object may, in some cases, include various defects where the surface of that model is not properly defined by the rendering application. A defect could be, for example, a hole in the 3D model, a detached portion of the 3D model, or a non-manifold region of the 3D model that includes improperly connected vertices and/or edges.
The defects mentioned above, as well as other possible types of defects, may be introduced by the rendering application as a consequence of unsuccessful generation of the 3D model. For example, in the field of three-dimensional scanning, a rendering application may generate an incomplete 3D model that partially represents a real-world object based on an incomplete set of data points received from a 3D scanner. Since 3D scanners typically cannot scan regions of real-world objects that are not visible to the 3D scanner, the set of data points provided by the 3D scanner typically will not include data points that represent those non-visible regions. In such a situation, those regions may simply appear as a hole-type defect in the 3D model.
When a 3D model includes defects, the end-user of the rendering application may attempt to repair those defects either manually or by way of automated model repair algorithms. In either case, the end-user is usually required to locate the defects requiring repair prior to initiating any type of repair operation. However, defects in 3D models may have a wide range of sizes, and, in some situations, may be so small relative to the overall size of the 3D model as to be completely invisible to the end-user. Consequently, the end-user may have significant trouble locating and repairing all defects associated with the 3D model.
As the foregoing illustrates, what is needed in the art is a more effective approach for repairing defects in a 3D model.